1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a dishwasher, and more particularly, to a dishwasher having an avatar display portion that improves its information transfer properties by displaying operating and control state information of the dishwasher using an avatar.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
The dishwasher is a device that sprays water into upper and lower racks to wash dishes mounted on each rack.
The following is a description of a conventional dishwasher.
FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view of the conventional dishwasher.
The dishwasher includes a tub 1, upper and lower spray nozzles 4 and 5, upper and lower racks 6 and 7, and a driver 10.
A wash space in which dishes are washed is formed in the tub 1. The upper and lower nozzles 4 and 5 are provided in the tub 1 at upper and lower inner positions thereof. Dishes to be washed by water sprayed from the upper and lower nozzles 4 and 5 are housed in the upper and lower racks 6 and 7.
The water sprayed from the upper and lower nozzles 4 and 5 is pumped by the driver 10 which includes a sump (not shown) and a wash pump (not shown). Wash water is stored in the sump, and the wash pump pumps the stored water up to the upper and lower nozzles 4 and 5 via upper and lower guide pipes 2 and 3.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a control-related structure of the conventional dishwasher.
As shown in FIG. 2, the dishwasher includes a key input unit 11, a water level detector 12, a controller 13, a storage 14, a load driver 15, upper and lower nozzles 16, an alarm sound generator 17, and a display unit 18. The key input unit 11 is used by a user to input a command. The water level detector 12 detects the level of wash water. If the user selects a desired wash cycle and inputs an activation command using the key input unit, then the controller 13 controls the dishwasher to perform the desired wash cycle. During the wash cycle, the controller 13 outputs a control signal according to the water level detected by the water level detector 12 and controls the overall operation of the dishwasher. The load driver 15 controls the operation of loads of the dishwasher. Here, the term “loads” refers to electrical loads rather than wash loads. The alarm sound generator 17 generates a sound indicating an abnormal state of the dishwasher according to a control signal from the controller 13. The display unit 18 displays operating states of the dishwasher. The storage 14 stores a variety of menus and control signals for setting and performing a wash cycle.
Such dishwashers are sold to consumers and are frequently used by consumers in their residences. There have been suggested a variety of means for correctly transferring product information of a dishwasher, which directly affects reliability of its manufacturer and product.
The product information of the dishwasher contains usage of the dishwasher, solutions to problems or errors, and operating state information displayed while the dishwasher is in use. Current home appliance manufacturers generally produce and provide manuals, which describe usage of products, to consumers when they ship the products.
However, the manual is rarely read by the consumer except when a problem occurs in the product. In addition, the manual may fail to provide suitable information when needed due to difficulty in maintaining the manual.
Moreover, to indicate its current operating and control states, the conventional dishwasher merely uses a blinking light or letters displayed on a small screen rather than a large one.
FIG. 3 illustrates an example configuration of a display unit of a conventional dishwasher.
As shown in FIG. 3, the display unit of the dishwasher includes a wash cycle button, a timer washing button, a start/pause button, and the like and also includes an operation display portion for displaying the current wash cycle state, the remaining time, and the like to transfer its product information to the user.
The product information transfer method of the conventional dishwasher has poor information transfer properties since it requires that the user pay attention to the information displayed on the display unit.
In the case of a dishwasher that performs a different type of wash cycle according to user selection, it is required that the dishwasher correctly transfer its current operating states to the user. However, it is difficult for the dishwasher having such a simple display structure to meet this requirement due to its limited display features.
It is also difficult to update the product information of the dishwasher.